jbronderbookreviews

Darkhouse by Karina Halle

4 stars

(Excerpt from Goodreads) With all the vampire, werewolf and faerie books out there, it’s easy to become numb to all things supernatural. The antidote? Darkhouse introduces two real and unforgettable characters, Perry Palomino & Dex Foray, amateur ghost hunters who are “attractive, relatable and oddly heroic,” “flawed but loveable,” “slightly crazy” and just the most endearing pair to ever tackle the paranormal…just don’t call them normal. Darkhouse is a thrilling and sexy new take on concepts like Supernatural and The X-Files, bringing a breath of fresh air to a genre that has been inundated with the dead.

Perry has been having strange nightmares about a damp room with a stranger that seems to want to harm her. By day, she lives at home with her parents and little sister and works as a receptionist at a communications agency in Portland. Perry and her family go to have a weekend with her Uncle Albert and two cousins on the coast. While there she has this strong desire to explore the abandoned lighthouse on his property.

While exploring the lighthouse, Perry runs into Dex. He films for an internet show and was interested in the lighthouse for a possible new show. Then things get creepy, Perry is locked in a room with a burned bed. When she gets out Dex is nowhere to be found but hr cousins are looking for her.

After posting on her sister’s blog about the lighthouse incident, Perry has become an internet hit. This leads Dex to contact her about doing in internet show with him. Perry agrees but finds out there is more to this than just a story about a creepy abandoned lighthouse. When a creepy older lady starts giving her odd advice about Dex, Perry wonders what she is getting into.

I really liked this story. It is a great introduction to a series I think will just keep getting better. But I have to admit that the story felt unfinished. We get to a peak in the story that feels unresolved. Then the story ends with the possibility of more to come. Don’t get me wrong, I will definitely be reading the others in this series.

If you like paranormal YA stories, you will not be disappointed in this. Just remember that it is the first in the series.

I received this book for free from Book Rooster in exchange for an honest opinion.

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The Plight and Plot of Princess Penny by Michael Mullin

5 stars

(Excerpt from Goodreads) From the author of “8: The Previously Untold Story of the Previously Unknown 8th Dwarf” comes an original fairy tale about a teenage princess who hires the witch from “The Frog Prince” to get revenge on a Mean Girl at school. (Intended for YA readers and up.)

Princess Penny is not your normal princess that thinks about knights in shining armor, being the head of a click in school, and wasting all the money in the treasury. Sadly, an ex-friend, Darcy, has been spreading vicious rumors saying she is very superficial. While reading a magazine, Penny finds an ad from a witch that promised to help you get revenge. All Penny can think about is having Darcy suffer the same way she has.

When Penny gets to the witch’s place, she learns that she is missing some important things for the revenge to take place. She has to gather some items before the potion can be made. She also meets Jink, a nasty slimy troll like creature that is trying to make her think about what she is doing.

All Penny can think about is turning Darcy into a rat. When she returns to the witch’s house she finds the pull of the transformation potion too great and she steals it. Things don’t go as planned then the witch comes to collect her missing potion.

I really liked this poem. You can relate to Penny being picked on in school and wanting to get her revenge. This is a great moral story for anyone but especially those that find themselves in similar situations. I loved Michael Mullin’s 8 and this is another great story. I recommend everyone get this story you won’t regret it.

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